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JOHN s. SHAPTER, or News-011K, N. Y.

Letters Patent No. 61,474, dated January22, 1867.

i IMPROVEMENT IN'PETROLBIIM STILLS.

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TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: l

' Be it 4known that I, JOHN S. SHAPTEIQof the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and improved Petroleum Still; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

The nature of my invention consists in surrounding and covering a petroleum still in brick-work, and in so applying heat from superheated steam within and furnaces beneath the still that an even temperature is secured in every part of the still, and thus vaporizing the petroleum at acompara'tively low temperature, and consequently avoiding all burning of the oil Within the still. The petroleum being vapiori-zed without burning, no coke is deposited in the bottom of the still, and no impurities are carried over with the vapor, requiring the distilled oil to be subjected to chemical treatment with acids before being t for use, involving great expense in the acids used and in the loss of oil by their use. Great ec'onomy in the consumption of fuel is obtained, ninety four per cent. of pure oil secured, and the remaining six per cent., instead of being in the form of worthless coke, burned to the bottom of the still, as by the common process, is left in a. state suitable for lubrioating certain kinds of machinery.

'To enable others skilldin the art to make and use my`invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and'operation.

Figure 1 is a vertical section through the centre of the still, with some of the parts shown in perspective.

Figure 2 is an elevation of oneside, with some ofthe parts in perspective.'

Figure 3 is a horizontal section of the still, even with the top of the iron collar C; and

Figure 4 is a horizontal half section, even with the fire grates beneath the still.

The cylinder-shaped still A, with oval top and slightly oval bottom, is walled around and over the top with brick, and it is held `in its place by the iiange B, securely fastened to the side of the still, and resting on the iron collar C, embedded in the brick wall D. An iron plate, E, resting on this wall, supports the brick-work over the top of the still. 'Within the still is a coil, F, into which superheated steam is admitted from the superheater G, generated in the tubular boiler H. Its admission into the coil F is regulated by the stop-cock I, and

it passes out of the coil into the ue .I through the small pipe K. ywhich also serves to drain olf any Water condensed in the coil. In addition to the heat applied inside, by means of superheated steam within the coil F, heat from two furnaces, L L, beneath the still is applied to the outside. These two furnaces are set directly opposite each other, with the liuc from the boiler and superheater between them. By means of the collars C and the dempers N N N N, the heat from these furnaces can be' confined to the lower half of the still, or can be admitted to the upper half. They both communicate with the smoke-stack M. By the careful management of these furnaces an even heat'c'an bc kept up around every part of the still, a Athing of the igreatest importance to prevent the vapor rising from`the bottom of the still from condensing in the top of it and falling back, instead of passing over through the neck of the still. These furnaces are also'of importance in increasing the heat while vaporizng the heavier portions of the crude oil; but even when used for this purpose, only small fires should be made in'them, lest a too high degree of heat should cause a burning of the oil within. YThe arrangement of the boiler, superheater, and still is such that all of the heat from the re used to generate the steam not used up in the boiler passes through into the superheater, and all that is not used up in this passes through and comes in direct contact with the bottom of the still, thus making'it impossible for more than' a v very small portionof the heat to escape unused. Connected with the neck of the still are an air-pump and a condenser, not represented in the drawings. This air-pump is operated by steam from a boiler independent of the one in conncctio'n with the isuperheater and stili. By the action of the air-pump a vacuum, more or less perfect, is formed in the still. The crude Voil is let in through the pipe O, \its {low-being regulated by the stopcock P. Experience shows that the .vacuum needs to be more -or less perfect, according to the quality of the oil being distilled and the degree of heat employed. To enable the operator to see what is going on within the still, a glass, Q, inserted in a tube connectedwith the still is used, placed directly opposite another of the same kind. It is a-vacuum gauge, to indicate the degree of the vacuum within the still, and S is an air pipe, with a stop-cock.T, by whichftogether with the 'air-pump,vthe operator can regulate the vacuum at will. U is a glass gauge, to Aindicate the height of the oil within the still.

afi/7? I After the distillation has proceeded to a certain degree', the lighter oil, that first passes over into the condenser, is returned through the pipe O into the still, Where it mixes with the heavier oil, and becoming volatilized, carries over the heavier oil, vaporized with it, into the condenser; and this process is continued until not more than five or six per cent. of the crude oil first let into the still remains, which can Abe drawn off at will through a cock in the bottom of the still, not represented. By this process the oil, after distillation, needs only to stand a day or two in vats, in which time it settles perfectly clear, almost iodorous, of even specific gravity, capable of standing a heat test of 130, and a cold test of' 30 below zero without congealing.

What I claim as my invention, `and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The arrangement of the boiler, superheater, and still, by which the heat from the boiler is made to' pass through the superheater, and then through, under, or around the still.

2. The arrangement of the furnaces L L, collar C, and damperswN N N, in combination with the coil -F,

for superheated steamavithin the still. v

3. Enclosing a petroleum still in brick-work, with two side channels'Lone above and the other below the collar C, and a third beneath the still,l substantially in themanner and for the purpose described. l

4. Placing the eye-glass Q in a tube connected with the still, so that nthe operation` within the still can be seen, although enclosed in brick walls, with channels for smoke and hot air between the masonry and the still.

5.l The air pipe S, when applied to a petroleum still, for regulatingthevacuum.

JOHN -S. SIIAPTER.r

.Witnesses:

E. B. CURTIS, PETER RITTER. 

